Our relationship with food is a foundation of what we do at Farm & Wilderness and is directly connected to the skills we learn and the values we practice. Campers learn self-reliance by growing their own food, packing and carrying their food on trips, and helping to prepare meals. We live our values when we support the diversity of diets amongst us – those we are born into and those we choose; all are part of a person’s identity and merit respect. This may take the form of awareness in a buffet line not to cross-contaminate neighboring foods, or in what we eat on wilderness trips because of one member’s allergy. Being intentional about values and skills creates a rich and healthy relationship with food that is supported by our organic farming program.
At Timberlake, we focus on project-based learning. Campers become motivated by choosing their projects and seeing it through to its completion. For example, in our Barns and Gardens program last summer, campers chose to make pizzas from ingredients grown at F&W. This included grinding TL-grown cornmeal for the base, and adding our tomatoes, vegetables and mozzarella cheese made from our cows’ milk. It was baked in a cob oven and enjoyed as a group.
We may not all choose to specialize in the skills of food production, but we all eat! Our dining hall or “Upper Lodge” is where we eat, clean, sing and celebrate. Our kitchen is the heart of this space. Providing meals that are made from scratch three times a day requires a lot of hard work—as does cleaning up! At F&W we believe:
Work Is Love Made Visible
and we honor this by making time for each cabin to contribute. For some campers, this is not enough, and they will wake before 6 a.m. to come up and volunteer in the kitchen. We are excited that the renovation of the kitchen is a priority for the
Thrive for 75 Capital Campaign. The new kitchen will also receive upgrades to serve the diversity and plurality of dietary needs. Everyone works, everyone counts, we all grow—we thrive together!
– Tulio Browning, Timberlake Director
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